NO FORESEEABLE LAUNCH SOON FOR SHUTTLE �
SPACE STATION REPAIRS DELAYED
Sadly, our entire fleet of four space shuttles has been grounded for the near future, following the discovery of defective engine parts on two of the shuttles. NASA announced that very fine, tiny cracks and fractures were found on flow-control propellant lines in both the Atlantis and Discovery vehicles. The engine component is 15 years old. The shuttle Columbia had been scheduled for a July 19 launch, but this has been put off due to safety concerns. While no defects are reported found on Columbia or the fourth shuttle, Endeavor, they too need to be inspected for obvious reasons of prudence. The inspection process requires the entire engine module of each shuttle to be completely removed from its orbiter�s hull. Repairs and testing are expected to take at least a month. The necessary fixes and further inspection are also likely to delay the scheduled August 22 launch of shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station.
In a related development, one of four gyroscopes on the space station has failed and must be brought back to earth for determination of what went wrong and, if possible, repair. The initial assessment of NASA engineers is that the bearings inside the gyroscope were not lubricated enough. Unfortunately, currently slated launch payloads do not allow a replacement gyroscope to be sent up until January, as there simply is not room enough in the shuttle�s cargo bay to accommodate the gyro package along with other cargo that must be sent on upcoming missions to the ISS. Currently, the space station is keeping position just fine with three gyroscopes, and would even be able to operate with only two working, although such a situation would require the use of more stationkeeping propellant fuel.
current science news posted by ted at 6/26/2002 04:42:00 PM
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